Two Campus Reflections

Impact Report March 2026

This Outreach Update features a short reflection from JFA trainer Kaitlyn Donihue from our Kansas State outreach in November 2025 as well as a testimonial from Maria, a student leader who invited JFA to her campus twice last year. In addition, our teams have been working in Texas, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Colorado over the past few weeks. You can see pictures and updates on our Instagram (@picturejusticeforall). Thank you for praying for us and for supporting our work with your generous financial gifts.

-Steve Wagner, Executive Director

Meeting Beth at Kansas State

JFA Trainer Kaitlyn Donihue

During our Kansas State outreach in November 2025 (pictured), a JFA volunteer named Michael talked to “Beth.” She shared that she had almost been aborted. She was struggling with sadness and depression and whether her life mattered. Knowing that her parents hadn’t wanted her was deeply painful.

Jonathan Hupp, a local pastor (Left, white shirt) and Paul Kulas, JFA’s Director of Operations (Right)

Michael affirmed Beth’s value and shared about Jesus with her. He asked Beth if she believed in God. She said she didn’t, but she also didn’t believe in coincidences. She said she had never walked on that sidewalk across campus before, but for some reason she decided to do so that day, and she ran into us. She felt that maybe the God she didn’t believe in was pulling her to Himself.

Michael agreed and asked if he could connect her with his wife so that she could explore her questions about God and the world in a deeper way. She said she would like that, so he connected the two of them, and they have plans to meet for coffee. Hopefully this will turn into an ongoing relationship where Beth can experience Jesus and begin to understand her value. Wanted by her parents or not, she is wanted by the Creator of the universe.

Conversations around the topic of abortion often open the door for our trainers and volunteers to meet people in some of their deepest pain and share the message of hope in Jesus with them. We consider it a high honor to get to do that.

-Kaitlyn Donihue for the JFA Team

How JFA Made a Difference at IU Bloomington

Maria

We had tabled with other pro-life organizations before, but Justice for All training us was an absolute game changer.

Our Students for Life group has always been eager to engage our campus in genuine conversation with those who disagree about abortion, but many members have very different levels of experience with apologetics and pro-life philosophy.

Maria (Center, White Shorts) and Jon Wagner, JFA’s Director of Community Engagement (Right, green shirt)

JFA’s training helped all of us get on the same page with real conversation advice that works; after

one training, it was obvious not only how many more people we were able to speak with, but also how much more honest and fruitful every conversation was.

Having been a pro-life student leader for the entirety of my high school and college experiences, I can think of no other group more effective than Justice for All at changing hearts and minds on campus, and I wish I could have brought them in sooner!

– Maria,

President of Students for Life at Indiana University Bloomington

You Have to See Firsthand

Impact Report, February 2019

As a freshman at the University of New Mexico (UNM), Julia held strong pro-life convictions, bolstered by her faith and her own scientific research. Living in New Mexico, a state some have called “the late-term abortion capital” of the country, she was also aware that many people around her were hurting and severely uninformed about abortion. But Julia didn’t know what she could do to make a difference. Julia knew about the Students For Life club at UNM, but she missed the training seminar that the club had invited JFA to lead for pro-life students that fall. Julia did attend the outreach event JFA held on her campus that week, however, mainly to observe. In this Impact Report, Julia shares how compelling it can be to witness a different kind of conversation about unintended pregnancy and abortion firsthand. It was these conversations that motivated her to share the truth about abortion with her peers and help women facing unintended pregnancies on her campus. Have you ever experienced a JFA outreach event firsthand? If not, join us at any upcoming event and feel free to simply watch and listen. If you can’t make it in person, you can view a complete outreach conversation on our blog, right now! There’s nothing quite like seeing these unique conversations unfold before your eyes.

- Steve Wagner, Executive Director

Julia (far left, with backpack) observes conversations at a 2017 JFA outreach event at UNM during her first semester on campus. The transparent barrel under the yellow sign contains fetal models representing the children killed by abortion in America during the days JFA was on campus.

I first encountered Justice For All during my first semester on campus... It was the second day of outreach and I stopped by the display to listen to the conversations being had. I ended up staying for a couple of hours and witnessed several dialogues about human value, rights, and the reality of abortion. What amazed me was just how effectively and calmly the Justice For All leaders and Students For Life students were able to speak on such a controversial topic.

“I began to dialogue with [the group of pro-choice men] until...one of them began to yell at me for hurting women. It was then that a JFA leader stepped in...‘Look around...you all are so staunchly wanting to stand up for the rights of women, but you’re doing it by yelling at the only woman in this group.’”

Near the end of the day, a group of young men began to speak to each other about why they were pro-choice and were shocked when I, the only woman in the group of about seven men, said I was pro-life. I began to dialogue with them until about ten minutes went by when one of them began to yell at me for hurting women. It was then that a JFA leader stepped in to diffuse the situation and said something that made them all pause: “Look around...you all are so staunchly wanting to stand up for the rights of women, but you’re doing it by yelling at the only woman in this group.” I ended up speaking with a couple of the young men long after JFA had already taken down the display. It was then that I realized that it was this sort of outreach that was so necessary on our campus, and right then I joined Students for Life UNM and became the Pregnant on Campus coordinator which allowed me to offer support and resources to pregnant and parenting students on campus.

Justice For All returned to UNM in fall of 2018 where I got to attend my first actual seminar with them. What inspired me was how they stressed the importance of valuing the life of the person you’re speaking with enough to listen, ask questions, and to be calm, understanding, and kind, all while standing up for the dignity of the unborn. I strongly encourage our group and community members to attend JFA’s trainings because it made me feel like outreach was less about fighting with those who disagree with you in order to prove your point, and more about loving those people enough to take the time to speak to their hearts.

Julia talks with a fellow student during JFA’s outreach event at the University of New Mexico (UNM) in November 2018.

During the outreach days I had the chance to speak with a young man whose girlfriend had two abortions, at least one of them being his child. He at first was very much in support of abortion rights, but as we spoke, and after a couple of hours went by, he revealed just how much hurt and pain he and his girlfriend continue to endure due to the loss of their baby. The conversation began with an unshakable defense of their actions and ended with me giving him abortion healing resources and him thanking us for speaking to him.

Recently everything came full circle, and I was honored to have been named the new President of Students for Life UNM. I still give credit to Justice For All for being that push that changed my personal beliefs about being pro-life to a drive to share this reality with others. I am forever thankful for the work that they do, and we are looking forward to JFA’s next visit to the UNM campus in March!

- Julia
President, UNM Students for Life

How JFA Helped Me Reach My Campus

August 2016 Impact Report

By Meredith Boles

Introduction by Steve Wagner

INTRODUCTION

In this Impact Report, Meredith Boles describes a conversation that took place at JFA’s new Stop and Think Exhibit (shown below), illustrating how the public display of abortion images, a gracious manner, and thoughtful responses to tough questions can help pro-choice advocates “stop and think” about abortion in a new way. 

Meredith and another UCLA student talk in front of JFA's new Stop and Think Exhibit in May 2016.

Meredith also shares what it was like for her club, Live Action UCLA, to partner with JFA to carry out large JFA events on the UCLA campus two years in a row.  We cherish the hard work of Meredith, Ines, and other members of their club who share our passion for creating hundreds of conversations about abortion in a single day of outreach.  Meredith and Ines helped invite JFA to campus, participated in conversations themselves, and rallied other club members to participate.  The result?  Together, JFA and Live Action UCLA trained more pro-life advocates and reached more pro-choice advocates than either organization could ever have done on its own.

P.S. This Impact Report is the second in a series showcasing our newly-expanded large exhibit outreach program, which also includes another new exhibit that was displayed at UCLA, The Art of Life.  For an introduction to both new exhibits, including more pictures, see JFA’s July report, “Two New Exhibits: A First Look.”

-Steve Wagner, Executive Director

THE STORY

I just graduated from UCLA, and throughout my four years there I was actively involved with the pro-life group.  In both my third and fourth years, I coordinated with Justice For All so that we could bring them onto our campus for a training seminar and then for an outreach event.  I cannot recommend JFA enough for a club event that is both educational for club members and influential for our peers on campus. 

Throughout this past year I had to meet periodically with the staff of the club events office in order to get the training sessions and the outreach exhibits approved, as well as to reserve outdoor spaces, classrooms, equipment, parking, etc.  This process was difficult at times because it was very obvious that the campus administration was not pleased with our event, so it felt like I was pulling teeth at times. It was also difficult because not everyone in my club was comfortable with the idea of displaying graphic images of abortion, and so I did not have enthusiastic support from all my club members.  But with their consent, and the help of two club members who were fully on board, combined with the guidance and assistance from the JFA staff, and the conviction that this was a great opportunity for my last year in college, we made all of the arrangements. 

We had one day of training on a Sunday, and then two days of outreach at two different locations.  We needed one club member at all times present at the exhibit, and we used a group chat to coordinate this.  All of my club mates told me afterwards that it was a great experience, that they had some tricky conversations, some fruitful conversations, and that by the end they felt much more confident about having these conversations.

Meredith interacts with a fellow UCLA student in front of the side of the Stop and Think Exhibit focused on feminism and women's rights.

I myself had a very good conversation with a student named Amanda.  She was walking slowly past Justice For All’s Stop and Think Exhibit when I asked her what she thought of the exhibit.  She said she didn’t really understand what it was about, so I offered to walk around it with her and explain it.  We walked slowly, side by side.  Once we had circled around I asked Amanda what she thought.  She replied, “I know it’s a tricky issue.  It’s really hard to know.  I just think it should be up to the mother.  Do you think that abortion should be illegal even if the mother couldn’t afford to have the baby?”

I wasn’t sure if Amanda was expressing this condition because it was her own story.  All I could do was express my sympathy for a woman in this situation, whether it was her own or not.  I told her I understood her concern – it’s a real one.  Students who get pregnant do not just have to put up with expenses for a year.  They become permanent mothers.  They either need to raise this child, love it, and provide for it, or give it up for adoption.  It’s so, so hard for these women on our campus who find themselves pregnant when they did not intend to.  Amanda was moved and said, “Yeah, I think adoption is an alternative.  People try to say that it’s worse but I think it is a great idea.  After all, a lot of couples want a baby.”

I agreed with her and told her there is even a waiting list for couples wanting to adopt.  Then I said, “Going back to your concern about women who get pregnant while in poverty.  Let me ask you something…”  I trotted out the toddler as we had practiced in the training on Sunday, and finished with, “So I know it’s an extreme example, but you wouldn’t say we could kill that toddler, right?”  She said, “Of course not,” and then paused and added, “I understand what you mean.”

Her voice got a bit more anxious when she said, “I don’t know, it’s just that this whole time I have been telling myself that I was pro-choice, but after seeing that picture…”  She was referring to the picture of the aborted baby on one of the panels of the exhibit.  “Is that really ten weeks?”  I said yes, and she said, “I had no idea.”

“Working with Justice For All bolstered our club in our fight against abortion, and helped spread awareness of our club. I highly recommend it for every single pro-life group on college campuses.”

— Meredith

I told her that the reality behind that picture is the reason why I am fighting to end abortion.  I asked her if she agreed that a procedure so brutal could never be the right option, and so it should not be legal to choose it.  She said yes, but asked, “But if abortion were illegal, would that mean women who get abortions would be criminalized?  Would you agree with that?”  I might have faltered at this point, except that one of the JFA trainers had walked us through this topic at the training.  If I truly believe abortion is killing an innocent human being, which I do, then of course a woman who willingly breaks a law that states abortion is an illegal act of murder should be penalized.  I told her that it may be the case that a woman who committed an abortion was under a lot of emotional stress, and so may receive less grave sentences, but she would still need to be penalized.  She agreed with my reasoning.  She said, “Thank you so much for talking to me about this.  This really helped me.”  I gave Amanda the JFA brochure, and we exchanged numbers.  [Editor’s note: See JFA's Extending Your Learning page for more on this topic.]

Not every conversation goes this well, but JFA gives us the tools so that every conversation is at least civil and intelligent, and almost all of them leave the other person pondering.  The conversations definitely confirm me in my beliefs; at the same time, talking face-to-face with another student who holds the opposite opinion to mine helps me to be more understanding.  It reminds me of the reason why I believe abortion should be illegal: every person, whether it is the pro-choice student who is standing in front of me, or the unborn baby in a mother’s womb, has dignity and ought to be loved. 

Working with Justice For All bolstered our club in our fight against abortion, and helped spread awareness of our club.  I highly recommend it for every single pro-life group on college campuses.

- Meredith Boles, Member of Live Action UCLA and JFA Volunteer